OKLAHOMA CITY — The removal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover has created raw emotions for some who served, said Maj. Gen. Michael Thompson, adjutant general for the Oklahoma National Guard.
Oklahoma sent about 13,000 members of the Army and Air Guard into Afghanistan, according to the Oklahoma National Guard.
“Some of them didn’t come back,” Thompson said in a video. “And some of them came back broken.”
He said some who served are asking if their service was worth it. Some Gold Star families are also asking if their sacrifice was worth it, Thompson said.
“I am ill-equipped to make that decision,” Thompson said. “And we will not find an answer to that question on a Facebook poll or a survey or a hashtag moment. The only person that can answer that question is you.
People are also reading…
“It is a deeply personal question. The thing I would ask you to consider in your service in Afghanistan is you did everything your country asked.”
Now, service members have little ability to affect what is going on in Afghanistan today, Thompson said.
“You did your part,” he said.
For Thompson, the contributions made by U.S. troops was worth it and not in vain.
Thompson said when the U.S. initially went into Afghanistan, it was on the heels of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the United States.
The mission grew, he said.
It became clear that the U.S. need to train and equip the Afghanistan military so terrorists didn’t feel comfortable to launch operations, Thompson said.
“They didn’t perform the way all of us thought,” Thompson said.
He said no one felt the country would fall as quickly as it did to the Taliban.
When service members return from deployments, they are met with red, white and blue and balloons, Thompson said.
They then go and deal with unresolved emotions, said Thompson.
When soldiers return from deployment, they are not expected to compartmentalize and go back to daily living. It is important to focus on mental well being, he said.
“If we have got soldiers struggling or who need help, we have people that can reach out to them,” Thompson said.
Thompson asked for prayers for those who served, those who were lost and Gold Star families.
“I ask you to pray for the peaceful people of Afghanistan, of which there are many,” Thompson said.
<&rule>
Featured video
At-risk Afghans who were evacuated to Italy are telling traumatic stories of how they escaped Taliban search patrols and went to terrifying efforts to reach the airport in Kabul. They are remaining anonymous to protect their identity.
